A crowdfunding campaign launches on January 21 that could prove pivotal for recognizing sepsis during emergency medical services (EMS) care. Hosted through EngagePitt™, the University of Pittsburgh’s crowdfunding platform, this campaign seeks to raise $4,000 to initiate a pilot program that would equip first responders with a mobile application to recognize sepsis. Early intervention in sepsis diagnosis is crucial, since the risk of death increases by seven percent with every hour that sepsis remains undiagnosed and untreated. Because cases of severe infection are difficult to diagnose, there is an urgent need for a tool like ThinkSepsis to be tested during EMS care.

Dr. Christopher Seymour, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, explains, “Sepsis is common and deadly, and one in five septic patients don’t survive their hospital stay. The ThinkSepsis app will help efficiently transmit data from the ambulance to the hospital, so septic patients can receive their care right away.”

The campaign will run through March 4, 2015, and is partially funded by the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh). Click here to visit the campaign’s website, and to view a video that illustrates the purpose and importance of the program (also posted below). The ThinkSepsis app was also featured in the most recent issue of Pitt Med magazine, in an article describing innovative technologies to address health care needs. The ThinkSepsis project has multiple collaborators including local EMS agencies in Pittsburgh and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, including Dr. Derek Angus, Chair of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Donald Yealy, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Clifton Callaway, Executive Vice-Chairman of Emergency Medicine.